|
|
Post by Onthebench on Oct 14, 2015 8:10:07 GMT -5
Clearly, Chan got his team so up for PSU, more so than v OSU. I watched the OSU match and Friday Abbott was a mere shadow of Saturday Abbott. I'm looking at this from the perspective of 'on any given day,' and how hard it is to be on top. i thought Lee seemed a bit better on Saturday, but still worried that our right-side blocking has seemed to fall off somewhat. i wonder if having Heidi back in can help on that count. I agree, Heidi is a good lateral mover on the block with good hands. With the offense that we have available, the MB who is in for defense, Heidi, can get an occasional set, but isn't theoretically essential to scoring, given the outside hitting we possess...especially if Megan is able to back row attack. So perhaps erring on the side of defense is the way to go. Aiyana plays such a pivotal role as an opposite, that when proper sets are given her, she is dynamic, and really hard to defend. As a MB, she is great offensively...again, given the proper set. But overall, her blocking in the middle, compared to her offensive threat as an opposite, makes the argumnent for Heidi at MB and Aiyana at opposite, where she can hit from all front court positions at any given time. That adds the strength of Heidi's blocking while keeping a triple offensive threat in Aiyana. Another side note, I must applaud Carly for her very solid play during her brief time in the Illinois game. She seems quite stable and confident. Maybe it's time to try her in the DS role? With last two weeks performance, I agree with Heidi getting back to the MB role. Especially with uncertainty of Megan's availability, we need someone else to be added to the lineup. Her lack of offensive skill is not a major factor in a game, as others can take on the majority of offensive sets. But, her blocking may be a big factor in overall defense. On the matter of Carly, I think Krause is not an adequate defender, so I am all for trying Carly at that position. |
|
|
|
Post by cross5 on Oct 15, 2015 7:53:26 GMT -5
[quote timestamp="1444763017" Another side note, I must applaud Carly for her very solid play during her brief time in the Illinois game. She seems quite stable and confident. Maybe it's time to try her in the DS role? I saw Carly serve a couple balls but can't remember anything else, but she did look comfortable. Not sure she has ever played or trained out of the 1 spot. As far as this weekend, I think many of us will be suprised the lineup that will be on the floor. I'm really looking forward to see what players step up in Megan's absence. It really could be a turning point for some of the players and force them to be even more focused and determined. |
|
|
|
Post by nyline on Oct 15, 2015 8:33:15 GMT -5
Megan Hodge?
|
|
|
|
Post by traveler on Oct 15, 2015 9:38:17 GMT -5
Megan Hodge is now Megan Easey, i hear.
|
|
|
|
Post by nyline on Oct 15, 2015 15:04:10 GMT -5
Megan Hodge is now Megan Easey, i hear. I think you're right. Actually, using her married name might help slipping her by the NCAA  |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2015 7:49:52 GMT -5
After watching this game in its entirety again, I think 1 bad touch call by the refs in the middle of the 3rd set (PSU could've won the third set 25-23) could be the difference between winning the match in 4 and losing in 5. Having said that, I believe that loss did a ton of good for the team. It allowed Russ to mix things up—bring in some other players and tweak his lineup a bit. At the end of the match the Northwestern players celebrated like they won the NC; it was nice to see their joy. Tashima helped out her hitters a lot by being extremely aggressive as a hitter.
|
|
|
|
Post by traveler on Oct 27, 2015 7:54:22 GMT -5
After watching this game in its entirety again, I think 1 bad touch call by the refs in the middle of the 3rd set (PSU could've won the third set 25-23) could be the difference between winning the match in 4 and losing in 5. Having said that, I believe that loss did a ton of good for the team. It allowed Russ to mix things up—bring in some other players and tweak his lineup a bit. At the end of the match the Northwestern players celebrated like they won the NC; it was nice to see their joy. Tashima helped out her hitters a lot by being extremely aggressive as a hitter. Tashima was on fire...but a mere shell of that in this past weekend. of course, a lot of scouting reports since then... that bad touch v. Courtney was so bad that if i recall correctly, BIG network folks replayed it only once and concluded that the ball had not come within 6 inches of her. Good lesson, too, about the big mo...and recovering. didn't look like it shook them up at the time, but the score tells another story. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2015 8:15:26 GMT -5
I know PSU will play them extremely tough next time they meet on 11/25. I see a 3-0 win at Rec hall.
I hope that PSU has all the kinks worked out in the next month and defeats MN on 11/14 and NE on 11/28 (both are away matches).
Its important to be playing your best VB at the end of the regular season; its a truly telling sign of your playoff aspirations.
|
|
